


Episode Two: "Find a Balance."

by iriswrites



Series: Skam Boston: Season 2 [3]
Category: Original Work, SKAM (Norway), SKAM (TV) RPF
Genre: Canon Character of Color, Canon Lesbian Character, Gen, Multi, forced dates? nah. accidental conversations., phoebe bridgers my love, skam 2x02
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:46:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26417428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iriswrites/pseuds/iriswrites
Summary: Rubina Patil’s already made a plan for the next two years: work her way into the running for valedictorian, get into Barnard on the pre~med track, and get the hell out of Massachusetts. Yeah, she’s constantly stressed out, and counting calories is the only thing that keeps her in control of her life, but it doesn’t matter. When she gets these three things, she can relax. Until then, she’ll just keep on working.Elias Rivera is not a part of this plan. Ruby shouldn't even be thinking about him. He's just another worry on her brain, but no matter how hard she tries, she can't get him off of her mind.Control. That's what Ruby will get. She'll stop at nothing to achieve that.Too bad her body's got other plans.
Series: Skam Boston: Season 2 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1879771
Kudos: 6





	1. Closure

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 8:36 P.M.

INT. BEDROOM

RUBY is sitting in a hanging egg chair, her laptop in her lap as _Scott Street_ by Phoebe Bridgers plays quietly in the background.

She giggles at one point, smiling at the screen. After a moment, she clicks a few buttons, and the camera moves to see her laptop.

She's moved onto Instagram, looking through pictures of people we don't know. Eventually, she slows down on an account named "vivi.russo12", where a picture of VIVIANNE RUSSO is laughing in costume on stage with another girl.

She stares at the picture, her lips pressed together, and then suddenly presses on her DMs button.

She types in the same username and then starts to type out: "hey, this is rubina, i really think that we should try to get some closure before" but then deletes it all quickly, her face red.

She exits her DMs after a second before pressing the explore button and then the search button. The list is filled with names that we don't know. She clears them all quickly, then starts to type a name that we don't see into the search bar.

Her eyes widen slightly in surprise, and the camera pans back to a view of her phone.

She's slowly looking through an unknown profile, where a selection of mostly film photos is displayed. Several of the people in the photos are people we know, such as GRACIELA, ISAAC, KAILEY, and OWEN.

As she scrolls farther down, the photos seem to get darker, with the people from the previous photos disappearing, creating a lonelier feel.

She frowns slightly, but her face relaxes as the photos go back to normal after a bit. Suddenly, she scrolls up to the top, close enough to see the username.

The camera pans away before we can see the username. After a moment, she closes her laptop and lets her head fall against the chair.

She closes her eyes and sighs, the song growing louder in the background.


	2. Remotely Interesting

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1:54 P.M.

EXT. CLEARWATER HIGH SCHOOL FIELD

RUBY, GRACIELA, JULIET, KARIMA, and HOLLY are sitting on a circle in the grass, their backpacks behind them. JULIET is drinking a coffee.

HOLLY:  
Are you absolutely _sure_ that your friends can't perform, Ruby?

RUBY sighs, shaking her head. She looks uncomfortable.

RUBY:  
I know them, Holly. They're super busy, and even if they weren't, they wouldn't want to. It's not their thing.

HOLLY groans, looking frustrated.

HOLLY:  
So now what? We've got Ruby and who else?

GRACIELA:  
Benjamin _did_ say that he'd ask the other boys. He seemed interested enough.

HOLLY:  
They could take up a good amount of time, right? They've got a lot of songs.

GRACIELA:  
Like, a decent amount, I think? Enough to keep the crowd happy.

HOLLY:  
Okay, well...that's something, I guess.

KARIMA shakes her head.

KARIMA:  
I feel like you're missing the biggest thing here, Holly.

HOLLY:  
Which is?

KARIMA:  
We haven't even talked to people that everyone else would find remotely interesting. Gemini is really good, but let's face it. Benjamin and Nicolas are nobodies.

GRACIELA:  
Since when did _Nicolas Cole_ become a nobody?

KARIMA:  
_Relatively._ We need someone that will make all of their friends to come, someone that will get everyone else interested. There's gotta be _some_ level of musical talent in this school. I don't have that much faith, but I'm hoping there's something.

RUBY:  
We could honestly just make the first half an open mic or something. Anyone who wants to perform can do it.

JULIET:  
Nope. Bad idea. Soundcloud rappers.

HOLLY:  
No Soundcloud rappers are coming to a gift drive.

KARIMA:  
...you'd be surprised.

GRACIELA:  
I mean, it's gotta be a party in the end, though. Not, like, a full fledged one. But enough to keep people around and coming.

HOLLY:  
A _party?_ Really?

JULIET:  
What's wrong with a party?

HOLLY:  
Won't the point get ruined or whatever?

RUBY:  
She's got a point.

KARIMA:  
We've gotta find a balance between entertaining people and keeping the message. I think that the party's necessary. But it doesn't have to be huge. Just...I don't know. Something to make sure people want to stay.

HOLLY:  
I mean, sure, but I don't think that a _party_ is~~

She's interrupted as IVY jogs up to them, wearing running shorts and a t~shirt. She's just come from a loop around the school.

IVY:  
Graciela! Hi! I just wanted to know if~~

GRACIELA:  
Girl, don't you have practice?

IVY waves her hand in dismissal.

IVY:  
They won't miss me. You're going to the Chengs' place tonight, right?

She tries to catch her breath.

IVY:  
Sweet sixteen and everything.

GRACIELA:  
Yeah, I'm coming.

She realizes something.

GRACIELA:  
Wait, Ivy, you sing.

IVY:  
I'm okay. Why?

GRACIELA:  
We're having a benefit concert to collect items for a gift drive, and we need someone that people know to perform.

IVY:  
When is it?

HOLLY:  
Couple weeks. Should be next month, I think?

IVY nods for a moment, thinking.

IVY:  
Sounds fun. I'll let you know.

She smiles at them.

IVY:  
See y'all around.

She waves before running off, and GRACIELA turns back towards the girls, grinning.

GRACIELA:  
'Remotely interesting', right?

KARIMA:  
I'm oddly impressed right now.

RUBY:  
Since when did she sing?

GRACIELA:  
Since always, I guess. Or at least ever since I met her.

JULIET:  
Okay, are we done with the planning for today? Because _some of you_ promised to help me study for the physics test, and I'm not failing this time.

RUBY rolls her eyes, smiling.

RUBY:  
Okay, fine. Show me your notes, I should be able to figure them out...

JULIET grins, pulling out her notebook and handing it to RUBY as the camera cuts away. 


	3. Drama

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 1:47 P.M.

INT. CAFETERIA

RUBY is walking through the cafeteria when she passes GRACIELA, ISAAC, and KARIMA sitting at a table together. GRACIELA is eating a bag of chips. RUBY frowns slightly, sitting down in the seat next to them.

RUBY:  
Don't you guys have class?

GRACIELA shakes her head, eating a chip.

GRACIELA:  
History got cancelled.

KARIMA:  
What about you?

RUBY:  
Free period.

She smiles at ISAAC, who lifts his eyebrows in greeting.

RUBY:  
How was your birthday?

ISAAC:  
It was okay. My sister made, like, three different cakes and we watched the first three Harry Potter movies.

GRACIELA:  
They were damn good, though. Fancy frosting and everything. I didn't even know that she could do that.

ISAAC shrugs.

ISAAC:  
She stress bakes.

KARIMA, who's been looking at her phone, looks up.

KARIMA:  
Can we do something on Friday night? My cousins are gonna be in town and they're obsessed with that Kissing Booth movie and I just _know_ that they're gonna make me watch it with them again.

RUBY:  
Yeah, I'm free. The five of us, or...?

KARIMA:  
And Isaac.

A beat. ISAAC looks up.

ISAAC:  
_Me?_

KARIMA:  
Contrary to popular belief, there _are_ actually a couple of people in this world whose presences I actually enjoy. You happen to be one of them.

ISAAC:  
That...might be the nicest thing you've ever said to me, Karima.

KARIMA:  
It might stay like that.

GRACIELA:  
Okay, fine. The five of us and Isaac.

She pauses.

GRACIELA:  
If you can come. You can come, right?

ISAAC smiles ruefully.

ISAAC:  
Can't. I've got practice, and I promised Frankie that we'd study for our physics quiz together.

RUBY:  
Isn't soccer a spring sport?

GRACIELA:  
He does fancy soccer.

ISAAC:  
_Outside of school soccer.  
_

He looks over at RUBY.

ISAAC:  
I need the scholarship. Financial aid is _not_ gonna cover it.

RUBY nods in understanding.

RUBY:  
Capitalism.

ISAAC:  
Gotta love it.

GRACIELA:  
Okay, so...just the five of us? We can use it as a planning meeting.

KARIMA:  
_No._ No more planning meetings.

RUBY:  
I get hives just _thinking_ about it.

GRACIELA laughs.

GRACIELA:  
Fine! My place? 7:30?

RUBY:  
Mhmm.

KARIMA:  
Sounds good.

GRACIELA:  
I'll text Holly and Jules later. Right now, Isaac is supposed to help me with my SAT prep.

ISAAC:  
Yours is in _March!_ Why are you~~

GRACIELA:  
Because I want to be prepared, Isaac! What else?

ISAAC:  
That doesn't mean~~

KARIMA:  
Wait, shut up for a second.

She points discreetly into the hallway where NAZIA SHAKUR is standing with another girl, laughing.

KARIMA:  
You see that? That's my brother's girlfriend.

ISAAC:  
Okay, and...?

KARIMA:  
I don't know that much about her. Only her name. I _do_ know that my mom wants to meet her and my brother keeps on refusing, which has gotta mean something.

RUBY:  
Or maybe he just doesn't want your mom to embarrass him?

KARIMA:  
I know a lot about straight boys, Ruby. When a guy doesn't want his completely normal family to meet his girlfriend, she's either totally crazy or he's scared of commitment. And I know my brother. He's not scared of commitment at all.

She pauses.

KARIMA:  
She seems pretty normal, though. Which is unfortunate.

GRACIELA:  
_Unfortunate?_

KARIMA:  
Less drama. Most of my entertainment comes from my parents yelling at my brothers about their choice of women.

A beat.

GRACIELA:  
You're a strange, strange woman, Karima.

KARIMA smiles.

KARIMA:  
That's the whole damn point.

RUBY shakes her head, smiling, and then leans down to pull a notebook out of her backpack, talking inaudibly as the camera shifts away.


	4. Unhealthy

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 9:48

INT. KITCHEN

RUBY is sitting at the kitchen table, doing her homework, when NIKITA passes by her, looking at her phone as she walks. She heads towards the fridge and passes the sink before stopping and turning back to RUBY.

NIKITA:  
Have you eaten dinner?

RUBY:  
Mmm...not yet.

There's a pause. NIKITA raises her eyebrows.

NIKITA:  
Shouldn't you?

RUBY:  
[absently] Five more minutes.

NIKITA:  
Well, it's almost ten, so...no.

She breezes past RUBY and snatches the worksheet out of RUBY'S hands. RUBY'S mouth falls open, and she glares at NIKITA.

RUBY:  
I'm not done with that.

NIKITA:  
Doesn't matter. Eat your dinner.

RUBY:  
I can eat it later.

NIKITA:  
Really? Tell me when.

A beat. RUBY rolls her eyes.

RUBY:  
You're not my mom.

NIKITA:  
Well, Aai's not here right now, and neither is Baba. And Karthik acts more like a teenager than I do, so right now, I'm the closest thing you've got.

RUBY:  
You know, acting older than Karthik is _not_ an accomplishment.

NIKITA:  
You've got two choices. Either I'll make you something while you do your homework, or you make yourself something while I do your homework.

RUBY:  
...you're not doing my homework.

NIKITA:  
Oh, come on. I'm sure it's easy.

RUBY:  
You never even took this class!

NIKITA:  
Which one? AP Bio? I could've, you know. I just burnt out. Look, it's just vocab. Easy.

RUBY:  
_Niki._

NIKITA:  
What do you want to eat?

RUBY:  
I don't know. Whatever's there.

NIKITA disappears behind her towards the cabinets, and RUBY rolls her eyes, turning back to her homework.

NIKITA (O.S.):  
We have Annie's!

RUBY:  
That's so unhealthy, Niki.

NIKITA (O.S.):  
Well, your other option is chana masala, so...

RUBY pauses.

RUBY:  
Okay. Fine. Just, you know...boil the pasta, but the cheese in... ****

NIKITA:  
I know how to make _Annie's,_ Rubina.

RUBY:  
Right...

NIKITA wanders around the kitchen, clanging pots and pans together as she looks for something, humming off key. After a moment, RUBY turns around to look at her, eyebrows raised.

RUBY:  
What's up with you?

NIKITA:  
What? Nothing.

RUBY:  
Yes, there is. You're never this...I don't know. Present.

NIKITA rolls her eyes, but she's smiling.

NIKITA:  
I don't know. I just feel good. This girl in my child development class was like "Hey, Nikita, your smile is so pretty" and I was all like "Thanks, I love your eyes" and it kind of just left me on some sort of high all day.

RUBY:  
Was she cute?

NIKITA:  
Yes? I just said that I complimented her eyes.

RUBY:  
You're always accidentally flirting. I can't tell most of the time.

NIKITA:  
Well, this time I was. I don't know if she caught onto that, but...

RUBY:  
No straight girl compliments another girl's smile, dumbass. It's always the hair or the earrings or something. Never the smile.

NIKITA smiles, looking back at the pasta.

NIKITA:  
Yeah, I guess...

RUBY:  
Are you almost done?

NIKITA:  
Didn't you _just_ say that you weren't hungry?

RUBY:  
That was before I knew that we had Annie's.

NIKITA:  
_"That's so unhealthy, Niki. It's gonna kill you one day, Niki. It's not~~"  
_

RUBY:  
[laughing] Shut up!

NIKITA walks towards her with a plate of instant mac and cheese and sets it in front of her regally.

NIKITA:  
Your dinner is served.

RUBY:  
Wow. Fancy.

NIKITA:  
You know it.

She walks out of the kitchen into the living room, calling out behind her.

NIKITA:  
You better eat that!

RUBY:  
Or what?

NIKITA:  
Well, I can't tell you what I'd do! Otherwise you wouldn't be scared of it!

RUBY snorts, looking back at the table. Her eyes land on the mac and cheese briefly, staring at it for a moment~~and then she picks up her pencil and continues on her homework.


	5. Hands

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 7:08 P.M.

EXT. BOSTON

 _The Wire_ by HAIM plays over shots of the Boston streets and eventually focuses on an apartment complex.

INT. HALLWAY

RUBY stands in the hallway outside of GRACIELA'S apartment and knocks on the door. There's no response. She stands, waiting, tapping her foot, before knocking again.

Something clatters to the ground from the inside, and she can hear someone walking around for a moment before the door opens to reveal ELIAS, standing there, looking very confused.

ELIAS:  
Ruby?

RUBY:  
Hey. Is Graciela here?

ELIAS's eyebrows crease, and he steps forward, closing the door slightly behind him.

ELIAS:  
Um, she's at the library.

RUBY stares at him, then does a double take.

RUBY:  
We were supposed to hang out at seven. I thought I was late.

ELIAS:  
Are you sure she said seven? Because she's probably twenty minutes out. And that's only if she walks fast.

RUBY:  
No, I swear she said...

She opens her phone, tapping out a message to "dr holly frazier fan club" that reads: "we're meeting up at 7 right??". ELIAS waits, staring up at the ceiling.

She waits a moment, then HOLLY messages back "NO GIRL 7:30". GRACIELA follows up with "are you at my house?!?!"

RUBY types back "YES", and GRACIELA sends a couple of laughing emojis before writing "just hang out with elias rn i'm walking back". RUBY bites her lip, then looks back up at ELIAS, who's eyes are fixed on a stain on the wall. She sighs, pocketing her phone.

RUBY:  
Apparently they said 7:30. But she's coming back now.

ELIAS:  
Yeah, she should be back soon. The library isn't too far away.

They stand there in an awkward silence before ELIAS shifts over, creating an opening.

ELIAS:  
Do you want to come in?

Despite herself, RUBY smiles at him.

CUT TO: FLORES LIVING ROOM/KITCHEN

RUBY sits awkwardly on the couch, legs crosses, hands clasped on her lap. ELIAS walks past her after a moment, before walking backwards and stopping.

ELIAS:  
Are you okay?

RUBY:  
What? Yeah.

ELIAS:  
Are you sure? You look a little...

He shrugs. RUBY rolls her eyes, stifling a laugh.

RUBY:  
Use your words, Elliot.

ELIAS smiles, looking down.

ELIAS:  
No, I mean...you just look uncomfortable.

RUBY:  
No, I'm...I'm fine.

ELIAS shrugs, walking into the kitchen.

ELIAS:  
Okay.

A beat. He opens a cabinet.

ELIAS:  
Do you want anything to eat?

RUBY:  
Nah, I'm fine.

ELIAS:  
Are you sure? Graciela hoards a ton of snacks up here. There's, like, Takis and granola bars...and a weird amount of those Danish cookies.

RUBY:  
There's no way there's actually cookies in that.

ELIAS:  
No, I've checked. Believe me. They're actually there.

RUBY laughs slightly, and ELIAS closes the cabinet, walking over to the living room and sitting down in a chair. He sits, unmoving for a moment, then pulls out his phone, staring at it~~not actually doing anything.

RUBY:  
[after a moment} I saw your photos.

ELIAS freezes. He doesn't say anything, so RUBY keeps on talking.

RUBY:  
They were...nice. I really liked the one with the hands.

ELIAS looks up, smiles slightly.

ELIAS:  
[quietly] That's my favorite one.

RUBY:  
But I was wondering, the ones from last spring...what was up with those?

ELIAS shrugs, turning his phone off and putting it on the coffee table.

ELIAS:  
I don't know. I kind of base it off of how I'm feeling.

His face lights up as he continues talking, clearly very passionate about this subject.

ELIAS:  
That's my favorite part about art, you know? How you can show your feelings through it. If I'm having a really good day, I can take a photo of someone in the sun or something and when I look back at it, I can remember how I was feeling that day and try to bring that into my current mood. And if I don't feel good, I can base my photos off of how I'm feeling. Sort of like a forever memory album...

He trails off, noticing how RUBY is staring at him.

ELIAS:  
Sorry, I kind of get a little...

RUBY shakes her head, smiling slightly.

RUBY:  
No, I get it. That's why I like it too.

ELIAS:  
Really?

RUBY:  
Yeah, it's like...it gets me in a way that no one else can.

ELIAS smiles.

ELIAS:  
That's exactly what I mean.

RUBY:  
[teasingly] It fits into your cliché perfectly, though.

ELIAS:  
[laughing] What?

RUBY:  
You know what I mean! The sort of douchey popular kid is secretly super artsy and wins a bunch of girls with his pretty photos or something.

ELIAS:  
[still laughing] Well, it's not exactly a secret.

RUBY:  
The point still stands, though.

ELIAS:  
And since when did you think they were pretty?

RUBY blushes.

RUBY:  
That's...objectively true. They're nice photos.

ELIAS:  
Well, that means a lot coming from you.

RUBY:  
Why?

ELIAS:  
Because I know that you wouldn't lie to make me feel better about them.

RUBY opens her mouth to respond, but she's interrupted by the door slamming open as GRACIELA walks inside, JULIET behind her.

GRACIELA:  
Ruby, I _swear_ we said 7:30, seriously, did you really hear...?

She trails off, noticing RUBY and ELIAS sitting where they are.

GRACIELA:  
Having fun?

ELIAS:  
Now that you're here? No way.

JULIET:  
Please, Rivera. We bring the party.

ELIAS smiles, and GRACIELA walks over to him, perching on the arm of the chair next to him.

GRACIELA:  
Has Mami come home yet?

ELIAS frowns.

ELIAS:  
No. Sorry.

GRACIELA:  
Dammit. She's bringing home dinner, I think.

She jumps off of the armrest.

GRACIELA:  
Anyways. Ruby? You ready?

RUBY:  
Yeah.

She stands up, stretching her arms, and follows GRACIELA and JULIET as they head towards GRACIELA'S room. She stops just shy of the hallway, though.

RUBY:  
See you on Monday, Elias.

ELIAS smiles at her.

ELIAS:  
See you.

She smiles at him before turning into the hall and walking towards GRACIELA'S room. She stands outside of the door for a moment, just breathing, before pushing the door open and disappearing.

_CUT TO BLACK_

_CUT TO END CREDITS_


End file.
